The apostles were not perfect. They showed the true nature of the human heart. The book of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, show us different accounts were we can relate to the followers of Christ. These men were in the presence of the Messiah and still they faulted.
We have the story of the two brothers, who are nicknamed the twins of thunder. These two bothers wanted seats along the Messiah in His Kingdom. Not just any seats, one to His left and the other to His right. This shows pride and vanity of the heart. And who are we to judge when we ourselves want to be treated as important. It’s true, we are all guilty of this. At times we exalt our knowledge of the Bible in hopes for people to see us as “good.” And I would even go a far as to say that we as “Christians” sometimes think higher of ourselves and pity those who are “lost.” We give ourselves a higher status just because we are saved and we “know better.”
Peter swore up and down his loyalty for Jesus but when it came to it he denied Him. Not once, or twice but three times when he was accused of being a follower of Jesus. Our hearts are fickle, we waver with our loyalty. We say we wouldn’t deny our Savior but we do so every time we deny His word and His truth to follow culture. We change who we are amongst our different groups of friends, so that we are not outed as being the one who believes in Jesus, because we are afraid of rejection.
Then we have Thomas. In church he is referred to as “Doubting Thomas, ” because he said he would not believe Jesus had resurrected until he touched the nail marks on the hands of Jesus and His side. He wanted proof of the resurrection. He was not going to just hear and believe, he wanted to see it physically. This apostle walked with Jesus, saw His miracles but he still needed this assurance. That sounds like me sometimes, not believing and wanting proof, as if this magnificent world we live in is not proof enough.
The good news in all of this is that even with all their faults, God still chose them to walk with the Savior of the world. Even with the pride in their heart, their disloyalty and sinful nature, God still chose them. Not because of who they were but because of who God knew them to be. And through trial and tribulation God refined them, changed them from the inside out. These ordinary men spread the gospel and where used greatly.
We don’t have to be perfect to follow Him, we will never be, and we don’t have to be. The Apostles are proof of that. God still chooses us even with our flaws. God still chose you friend. Come, be a follower of Christ, no perfection required.
notlostbutfound 